The blood energy in the chapel surged and churned, and Alexander felt as if he was drowning in a vast tide of blood, an immense flood that threatened to engulf him.
A nearly monstrous rift stretched before him, and bestial roars erupted from it, seemingly meant to awaken the anger and agitation within everyone present.
The supreme servant of the Blood God, the figure of that daemon Prince, flickered in and out of view within the rift, monstrous and terrifying, poised to step into the material universe to seize blood and skulls.
Mephiston knelt on one knee, his psychic power writhing within his flesh, like black shadows blocking the daemon Prince, attempting to resist him. Yet, even Mephiston, powerful as he was, felt helpless against this terrifying daemon Prince.
That was Angron, Khorne Greater Daemon after Skarbrand's Great Heresy, the Blood God's most favored.
The Blood God was so desperate that he threw him out! And this daemon Prince was clearly enveloped in a soul-shaking rage, the will of Khorne himself. Khorne had poured his power into Angron's body, making him act as his proxy.
Alexander's eyes twitched slightly.
He recalled the Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine's prediction of a daemon Prince and a daemon Prince blocking him from resurrecting the Archangel.
Alexander had initially thought it would be Ka'Bandha and Angron, but now it seemed...
Ka'Bandha had no knowledge of Alexander resurrecting the Archangel, let alone actively trying to stop him.
The daemon Prince blocking Alexander from resurrecting the Archangel was actually Angron. Predictions truly were unreliable!
Alexander clicked his tongue slightly, and at the same time felt strange. Why had only Angron, a single daemon Prince, arrived?
Where was Angron? Was he late? He wasn't Guilliman!
But Alexander had no time to think now. The Blood God's servants were constantly pouring out of the surrounding rift, forming a tide of blood that surrounded everyone.
And Angron was attempting to enter the real universe.
They had to break through quickly.
Alexander, however, still had a trump card, but that was reserved for the worst-case scenario.
The radiance of Astramael. After returning from Baal's Heart, Alexander had also visited the Saint's Treasure Vault, where he had used a mechanizer to replicate Astramael once more.
Astramael's power was limited by the Emperor's psychic energy, but a celestial body was still a celestial body.
This was the material universe, not the Warp. Using it here would undoubtedly... kill everyone except Alexander, fail the resurrection of Sanguinius, and possibly even destroy the entire Angel Keep.
"Servants of the Blood God! Get back! There is no place for your rage here!!!"
Just then, a voice filled with indignation boomed from the loudspeaker. Brother Maureste, the Librarians Dreadnought, let out a roar.
Powerful psychic energy transformed into pale golden flames, gushing from his Dreadnought sarcophagus' incomplete body. The power axe in his hand glowed with dazzling light, sweeping around like a hurricane, driving large numbers of daemons back into the Warp.
"In the name of Sanguinius!"
He brandished his power axe, his power claw howling and roaring, and charged fiercely towards Angron.
Angron's daemon axe, which housed a Bloodthirster, clashed with Brother Maureste's power axe, and a stream of gold and red fire exploded in the void.
Brother Maureste let out a roar. His will, channeled through the Dreadnought sarcophagus, manipulated nearby machinery, and a doorway opened.
That was the passage to Sanguinius' tomb.
"Advance! Mephiston!Seth! And that unknown sir!" Brother Maureste roared.
Powerful psychic flames roared out from the Dreadnought sarcophagus' rift, scorching like the blazing inferno of a celestial body.
This Librarians Dreadnought stood before Angron like an iron wall. The scorching psychic flames even incinerated the daemons attempting to crawl out of the rift.
"Lord Maureste!" Mephiston exclaimed.
He was beside the Librarians Dreadnought and could feel how scorching hot the surface of this iron sarcophagus was, could feel Brother Maureste's remaining body burning within the Dreadnought sarcophagus.
Brother Maureste's incomplete body was simply insufficient to sustain such powerful psychic energy. Every nerve of his was burning and being destroyed by the influx of psychic power.
And now, he and Brother Maureste were barely holding Angron at bay. If Mephiston left—
"By the Holy Blood! You know what you must do! Fulfill your mission! Mephiston!"
Listening to Brother Maureste's words, Mephiston gritted his teeth, unleashed one last psychic blade at Angron, then turned and swung the silver-steel longsword in his hand, carving a path through the tide of blood to Alexander's side.
Alexander nodded slightly to Mephiston. Both of them, without hesitation, rushed towards the passage leading to Sanguinius' tomb.
Only Seth still hesitated. He had seen the Archangel corrupted by Alexander in the blood, a scene that was undoubtedly real.
"Gabriel Seth! What are you still hesitating for?"
"Can't you see? The Blood God is roaring!"
"He is angry! This means you are on the right path!"
"And I have seen—"
Brother Maureste cried out, his incomplete body floating within the dark iron sarcophagus.
His limbs were long gone, and all organs except his heart and spine were also gone, replaced by complex tubes and external artificial organs.
Brother Maureste had floated in this dark iron sarcophagus for hundreds of years, and today, this cold, dark iron sarcophagus had actually become warm.
"I swear allegiance to him in life and death. I can feel his hand on my incomplete body. I hear the sound of his wings beating."
Brother Maureste murmured softly, his voice echoing through the loudspeaker into the chapel:
"Brother Gabriel Seth, I can see."
Seth's body trembled slightly, as if struck. He nodded slightly, then led the remaining Flesh Tearers warriors to Alexander and Mephiston's side.
He let out a low growl, swinging the Gorechild in his hand to clear a path for everyone.
"Roar!" A bestial roar erupted from Angron's mouth. The blood-burning axe clashed with Brother Maureste's power axe.
The Blood God's power and Brother Maureste's psychic energy intertwined, constantly colliding at the boundary between reality and the Warp.
Countless psychic flames gushed from Brother Maureste's incomplete body, scorching his nerves, and scorching Angron as well.
"Brother Maureste! O, the deceased!"
Angron praised Brother Maureste's power, a dark, gloomy voice emerging from his bestial mouth:
"Your axe could have taken more skulls, your strength could have brought more blood, yet you are trapped in this cold iron sarcophagus."
"The Blood God laments for you. Angron believes you are a worthy opponent. The Blood God can restore strength to your incomplete body, allowing you to taste blood and battle with your own flesh."
"Brother Maureste, recite, recite: Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"Get out!!!" Brother Maureste roared, his body burning within the iron sarcophagus, ashes slowly falling from his form: "Go back to your master! Beast!"
"Though I am incomplete, I am far more powerful than what your master promised me! For Sanguinius is with me!!!"
Ashes from Brother Maureste's burning body spilled from the iron sarcophagus, landing on his power axe. In an instant, flames like the radiance of a celestial body burst forth from the axe blade.
Angron let out a cry of joy, unable to help himself in the heat of battle. His and Brother Maureste's power axes clashed dozens of times in the void, but in the end, Angron gained the upper hand. The blood axe, formed from a Bloodthirster, tore through the boundary between reality and the Warp, striking heavily on the Dreadnought's mechanical arm.
Electricity crackled. Brother Maureste's arm was forcibly torn off by Angron. His body recoiled from the impact of the axe blade.
Angron's figure became clear, one of his legs stepping into reality.
"No!!!"
Brother Maureste let out a furious roar. His last remaining power arm swung violently behind him, shattering the Static Field standing in the chapel.
His power claw suddenly grabbed a scroll of Sanguinius and held it high.
The lead seal was torn, and sacred runes, written by Sanguinius himself, fell down, landing on Brother Maureste's body:
"In the name of the Holy Blood! I am Brother Maureste! I am the guardian of the secret dungeon and the Holy Blood scrolls! I am the sentinel of Sanguinius' tomb!"
Brother Maureste's entire body was burning. The uncontrollable psychic energy from his incomplete body ignited his remaining flesh, burning through the tubes connecting his artificial organs, destroying the few remaining nerves in his spine.
"I am a son of Sanguinius! I am the Emperor's Death Angel! I swear allegiance to humanity in life and death! I swear: There is no place here for you and your god!"
Sacred runes on the Sanguinius scroll burst forth with scorching sparks. Angron let out an exclamation, his body igniting. The flames, imbued with Sanguinius' power and Brother Maureste's psychic energy, caused him burning pain.
The Warp rift began to shake and shrink, and Angron's figure became less clear.
Brother Maureste's spine was burned away by the flames of uncontrolled psychic energy. His incomplete body gradually turned to ashes and dissipated in the fire, only his head unleashing its last bit of psychic energy as it burned.
Flames of uncontrolled psychic energy burst forth from Brother Maureste's facial features, causing the last part of this ancient warrior to vanish within the Dreadnought sarcophagus.
Moments later, the fire within the Dreadnought sarcophagus also burned out, leaving only the hollow Dreadnought mech, holding high the Sanguinius scroll, still in place.
The flames on Angron's body slowly dissipated. This daemon Prince let out a sigh, both of praise and regret.
Ultimately, he had prevailed. Angron once again extended his body from the now very small, shaking, and unstable Warp rift, entering reality—
A mechanical hum suddenly sounded. The Dreadnought mech actually raised its body again.
Uncontrolled, uncommanded, this hollow iron sarcophagus did not even have the function of autonomous movement.
But he moved, proudly and defiantly.
Angron could not comprehend the scene before him.
In his astonished gaze, the empty Dreadnought mech, holding high the Sanguinius scroll, charged towards Angron.
The sacred writings, penned by Sanguinius himself, magnified in Angron's eyes. He couldn't help but let out a wail, his body reigniting. The already unstable Warp rift violently shook, then dissipated into reality.
Angron's figure also vanished without a trace.
The unmanned Dreadnought mech slowly lowered its head, kneeling on the ground.
The Sanguinius scroll slowly descended, the sacred paper covering the Dreadnought sarcophagus, like a saint's shroud.
Only, there was no longer a sacred soul residing within the machine.